Connie Martin’s sense of adventure started at a young age. Growing up in Springfield, Mo., she would “haunt” around an abandoned mansion. From a field near her house, she would race the sunset on her bike.Martin’s sense of adventure coupled with her creative energy sparked an interest in creative writing. “Some things are just born in you,” Martin said. In second grade, she wrote a story about polar bears that kidnap Santa’s reindeer; during fifth grade through junior high she focused on poetry, and in high school she began to write short stories.”If I don’t write, I feel like I’m going to implode and explode at the same time,” Martin said.Martin described Springfield as “the best place to be born.” She said her middle class upbringing was ideal. “I think middle class is the best way to grow up – you have your needs met and some of your wants, but you’re not spoiled,” she said.After moving out of the house that she had lived in for 19 years, Martin dropped out of college and moved to Provo, Utah, to live with her sister. “I guess I went on a quest looking for myself and my place in the universe,” she said.After Utah she traveled to Southern California, with dreams to become a screenwriter at NBC. After meeting a producer she got an inside tour of the industry but decided that wasn’t the kind of lifestyle that she wanted. Martin met her first husband in California, but after their divorce she moved back to Utah with her four children.Martin met her husband, Ferron, in Utah. She considers him to be her “true companion.” They have nine children; four Ferron had from a previous marriage and one child they had after they married.To make ends meet, Martin bought a business and made porcelain statues that she sold. Although Martin had a desire to write, her inner voice held her back. “I didn’t believe in myself,” she said. “So, I sold statues.”However, Martin boosted her confidence when she became a storyteller and performed at libraries.When Martin began to trust her writing abilities, she wrote her first children’s book. By this time, she and her family had moved to Falcon – they’ve been in Falcon since 2001. Martin said “The Quest for Eloshidi” took her a year and six months to write. The story follows a princess who leaves the kingdom to perform a noble deed. To earn her crown, she has to solve four riddles on a tapestry and find her missing brother.To promote her book, Martin will visit Pikes Peak area elementary schools. She will perform the book and hopes to inspire students to be creative. “As an author, there is that drive to express,” Martin said. Her next book, “The Crying Chandelier,” is targeted to young adults and is based on her adventures at the mansion she explored as a child. An agent has requested the manuscript.Martin has also written a short story for Cricket called “The Traveler.” She wrote the four-part story in her 20s and decided to dust it off and try to get it published. To her surprise, it was accepted on speculation. “I read the letter (of acceptance) several times standing in the lawn,” Martin said. “Then I went inside and did a Snoopy dance all over the house.” The publication of the story is five years in the making. “Patience pays off,” she added.Martin is scheduled to be a presenter at the Author Fest of the Rockies Oct. 3 and 4 at the Manitou Springs Public Library. She will speak on how to conceptualize the entire process of writing a novel.”I really think we all have inborn talents and we are just drawn to them,” Martin said.More on Connie MartinWhom do you admire and why?My mother. She was so sacrificing. She had to work full time, and I remember when she got done cooking dinner, we watched the “Love Boat” or “Fantasy Island.” I still feel guilty about that today. I remember her going to bed and I would see my mother sitting up in bed with red, sore eyes and she was so tired, but she would read her books. That inspired me. My mother is witty and she is so gracious. In fact, she is one of my editors. She reads anything and everything I write.What are your hobbies?Music. Flute and piano. Learning the wood flute and dulcimer.What is your favorite memory?My father was a traveling salesman for Chris Hansen Laboratories. They sell chemicals, dry ice and machinery to dairy farmers for the Midwest. And, my dad would always bring back Dad’s rootbeer just for me. Our little specialty – and I only recently realized this – he would go to Lake Kanopolis in Illinois, and he would bring an old Army bag. He would fill it with geodes he would find there, and he would bring it home and we would go in the garage with a hammer. We would crack them open to find the crystals inside. Now, I look at my stories and I have crystals in every story. I didn’t realize, I guess, that part of me that is so endeared to my dad keeps the crystal theme.Who are your favorite authors?Lloyd Alexander, especially for “The Arkadians”; Lois Lowry for her Messenger Series, and I guess topping everything would be J.R.R. Tolkien for fantasy. He’s just a master writer.For more information about Martin, visit her Web site at www.conniejmartin.com.
